Access Development Services (ADS), a national-level technical services company, has initiated a programme to provide business development services (BDS) for micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) engaged in the processing of cashew and kewda, a thorny flower.
The programme aims to scale up the businesses of these units operating in Ganjam and Gajapati districts of south Orissa by 30 per cent in the next two years. This programme is for a period of 32 months, starting from March 2009 to October 2011.
The cumulative turnover of the cashew and kewda processing units in these two districts is Rs 160 crore and Rs 80 crore, respectively.
Extracts of the kewda flower are used to make perfumes.While, cashew is in high demand in both the domestic and overseas markets.
The programme aims to help MSMEs to mitigate their problems and increase their profitability through improvement in productivity and facilitating access to high-value markets.
“Our aim is to enhance the turnover of the MSMEs through BDS. The programme also intends to create employment opportunities and aid the overall growth of MSMEs,” said Bishnu Prasad Panda, team leader of ADS.
ADS had recently conducted a workshop at Chhatrapur and Paralakhemundi, the district headquarters of Ganjam and Gajapati respectively, on the provision of BDSes to MSME units engaged in cashew and kewda processing.
